8 Replies Latest reply on Feb 7, 2020 2:19 AM by Dude!

    Groundbreakers Changes

    Jim Finch-Oracle

      Hi all,


      We are currently in the process of meeting with the stakeholders and auditing all of the Subspaces in Groundbreakers.


      As a result of the audit we'll be making minor changes, removing unused areas, combining others, etc.


      This will not impact the functionality of the site, but I wanted to give you all a heads up that we're moving things around.





        • 1. Re: Groundbreakers Changes

          Perhaps, when you have an idea of what you want to change, you forewarn the people in those specific areas, so they can either agree or raise whatever concerns they have; rather than just going ahead and doing it.  Otherwise we'll end up with the sort of situation where people don't know where to find the places they posted in, or that old situation where SQL and PL/SQL got split in to two spaces, which turned out to be a disaster, and confusing.



          • 2. Re: Groundbreakers Changes

            Another one is the sql related xml spaces. Never figured out where to post the questions. There are so *many* and under different parent spaces.

            • 3. Re: Groundbreakers Changes

              mNem wrote:





              It's a tricky one because if the issue relates more to SQL then the SQL and PL/SQL space is ok.

              If it's about handling of XML data, it's probably better over in the XML DB space, because there may be more to it than just the SQL handling, such as the use of other XML DB features.  I think they're right to be separate, but there is certainly an overlap.

              • 4. Re: Groundbreakers Changes
                Jim Finch-Oracle

                Again, making it clear that these are *minor* changes. I.E. removing areas that haven't had traffic in years, renaming subspaces at the request of a stakeholder, moving subspaces (at stakeholder's request) from one subspace to another, probably 90% of things you'll never notice. We working with the stakeholders, who run their communities, so any changes will be in coordination with them.





                • 5. Re: Groundbreakers Changes

                  Jim Finch-Oracle - As you're doing this work, could you and your team please try to look at the https://community.oracle.com/welcome and Oracle Groundbreakers pages through the eyes of a newbie.  What could you do to help a newbie understand what "Groundbreakers" means, and how to find the places where users can ask product questions?


                  • 6. Re: Groundbreakers Changes

                    I would like to add the following:


                    Oracle invents groundbreaking technology. While it's true that technology can be groundbreaking, it's not a common term in computing and Information Technology. Famous people like Steve Jobs, for example, are regarded as visionary, entrepreneurs, genius, but not usually as groundbreakers.


                    Groundbreaker is a popular term in politics. For example, groundbreaking women in politics. Considering past business statements of Jive, the platform vendor, and developments in the Oracle community, how can the term not convey a political message as part of a marketing strategy?


                    If the strategy is to attract community participation, by all means, but do so more professionally. To separate men and women can hardly be the solution to close the gender gap. You don't want to give the impression that the community is a playground for politically motivated interests and activism.


                    Oracle seems to have become obsessed with rebranding. Shifting the technology community (again) to Groundbreaker, and hence shifting history and substance, was a bad idea. You might as well have called it the Pink Panther community. Not everybody will recognize or self-identify with the new name.


                    Participation has been dropping drastically over the last years, but in my opinion not because people are unable to find a forum where they can post questions.

                    • 7. Re: Groundbreakers Changes

                      Not sure how much it is "political" but I do agree that "Groundbreakers" is not an appropriate brand for a public technological support community.

                      If I were a newbie, hitting the https://community.oracle.com/welcome page, looking to see where I could get help with my technical issue, and seeing:


                      The two communities I would consider would be: "My Oracle Support" (that sounds like it offers support) or "Oracle User Group" (that sounds like a group of users who may be able to help).


                      The first of those I'd find that I probably don't have access to, without setting up my account with a customer support identified etc. something I may not have if, for example, I was a university student learning Oracle databases.


                      The second I'd go to, click on my area of the map that's presented and look around a bit, but find that it just seems to be about user groups and events, and nowhere to ask my technical questions.


                      "Groundbreakers" just doesn't say anything about it being the place for getting any sort of technical support.  It would probably be one of the last of the choices to look at, by which time I may have just given up and gone an asked on some other platform like Stack Overflow.


                      The previous names of "Oracle Technology Network" and "Oracle Developer Community" actually indicated, at least to some extent, what it was about, and would be good for newbies trying to find out where to go.


                      Having been involved a little (only about 30 years now) with User Interface Design for applications etc. the branding and "making it obvious" nature of the interface is all important.  To me "Groundbreakers" is poor branding for this community.

                      • 8. Re: Groundbreakers Changes

                        People also want to post in a forum where they can reach a large audience. Take ASM for example, once a busy space, only showing 5 posts in the last 6 month. This translates to a complete loss of participation and creates a vicious circle.


                        I have not seen information or some plan from the community maintainer that would at least acknowledge these sad developments. Apparently the loss of participation and discussions in the technical forums is not considered a problem. Well, there is also nothing new in the not so technical forums. Where has everyone gone? That, in turn, makes me wonder what the community maintainer wants to accomplish. I hope it's not what I think.